Oil consumption to *some* problem

[billr]

It does not appear to be leaking, dripping or spraying anything anywhere. I've cleaned the engine completely and it still looks great. It smokes a tiny bit on startup, and maybe it's smoking very slowly, but I can't see it.
The reason I mentioned the gearing is because my rpms must be very much higher at cruise.

I had a car that acted similarly. I couldn't find a leak and no visible smoking, but it burned a lot of oil.

I'm going to ride it and oil it til it pops. Then I'm going to get a cruiser and convert this monster to electric drive.

You mentioned this earlier in the thread and I forgot...
I'm interested in electric conversions, also.
Too expensive, right now, but I try to keep up on the technology.
What are you planning?
Bill R

[Bill Jurgenson]

I'm going to ride it and oil it til it pops.

then you'll probably have it for a while. Unless you do something really stupid, 50-60 even 70tmls is parr for the beast.

[chisleu]

Yes Bill J: I hope it lasts a while, however the power is failing and the noise may be getting progressively worse. I believe it may be timing chain damage, but that's just a wild ass guess. haha

It does not appear to be leaking, dripping or spraying anything anywhere. I've cleaned the engine completely and it still looks great. It smokes a tiny bit on startup, and maybe it's smoking very slowly, but I can't see it.
The reason I mentioned the gearing is because my rpms must be very much higher at cruise.

I had a car that acted similarly. I couldn't find a leak and no visible smoking, but it burned a lot of oil.

I'm going to ride it and oil it til it pops. Then I'm going to get a cruiser and convert this monster to electric drive.

You mentioned this earlier in the thread and I forgot...
I'm interested in electric conversions, also.
Too expensive, right now, but I try to keep up on the technology.
What are you planning?
Bill R

A large brushless motor with enough batteries to cook a cow. The math was a 75mph top speed (more like cruising at 60) but with insane torque (via high quality speed control), no regen, and enough juice for a 60 mile range cruising at 60mph (which is quite a feat with lifepo's.

[hb7]

Riding it until it seizes is not advisable. If it locks up a freeway speeds....good luck.
You are risking a bad accident. Just saying....

[chisleu]

Riding it until it seizes is not advisable. If it locks up a freeway speeds....good luck.
You are risking a bad accident. Just saying....

No no, I fully expect it to pop, not seize. I'm adding oil every 333KM to keep it in shape. I expect the timing chain to break and pistons to maybe impact valves. I do not expect it to seize or I wouldn't be riding it at all!

Honestly, it's looking like I'm going to be the proud owner of one of these soon:


I'll probably go ahead and begin specing for the conversion and get a motor. I'll have plenty of work ahead of me before I'll need to order the ECM and batteries to seal the deal. Maybe it will give the market time to bring some of these new cells to market.

[OLDMTNCARVER]

Engines seizing, electric motorcycles...
I understand the verious thoughts that have been stated.
If someone wants to build an electric motorcycle, ok... I live in the town that the company Zero resides in and know some of the employees. Everyone has an opinion and that's good.
If anyone is thinking of parting out an MZ (after it seizes/pops) just sell the bike before it does to someone that might care.
Go with another brand motorcycle as a donor for the electric cause.

Just saying...
OMC

[chisleu]

Engines seizing, electric motorcycles...
I understand the verious thoughts that have been stated.
If someone wants to build an electric motorcycle, ok... I live in the town that the company Zero resides in and know some of the employees. Everyone has an opinion and that's good.
If anyone is thinking of parting out an MZ (after it seizes/pops) just sell the bike before it does to someone that might care.
Go with another brand motorcycle as a donor for the electric cause.

Finding a buyer for a MZ Baghira in good condition is hard enough as it is. Selling one with potential engine problems will be impossible. I would have a better time trading it in for the harley.

Why should I chose another bike to convert? I get they are different things entirely, a real bike, and a short range city electric. Why should I convert a different brand? You act as if I'm embarrassing the brand.

Just saying... please stop this tread.
OMC

I like this thread. I'm interested to hear anything anyone has to say, including you.

[hb7]

Oldmtcarver means well......he's just saying that to the MZ true believers, it would be a shame to drive the motor
to failure when it could be fixed reasonably now. Some of us really love these bikes....and want to see them
preserved.

I happened to know that engine failure may destroy the engine cases when the balancer loses it's timing in the worst scenario
or
it just will not start again when the compression drops in the best scenario.

I could be riding Ducatis or whatever, but I still prefer my MZ Skorpion.....

Good luck with the Harley....

Cheers,
Henri
moto-science : the ducati mirror specialist ™
http://moto-science.com/

[chisleu]

Oldmtcarver means well......he's just saying that to the MZ true believers, it would be a shame to drive the motor
to failure when it could be fixed reasonably now. Some of us really love these bikes....and want to see them
preserved.

I happened to know that engine failure may destroy the engine cases when the balancer loses it's timing in the worst scenario
or
it just will not start again when the compression drops in the best scenario.

I could be riding Ducatis or whatever, but I still prefer my MZ Skorpion.....

Good luck with the Harley....

Cheers,
Henri
moto-science : the ducati mirror specialist ™
http://moto-science.com/

I get it, but the only reason I wouldn't ride it is if I get another bike to ride. After that, I don't see the problem converting the drivetrain. Sorry if it ruffles feathers, but it's my bike.

[Bill Jurgenson]

it would be a shame to drive the motor
to failure

that would be true of any bike, even a Harley.
Like I said and eveyone knows, it is a Yamaha engine and very common, built in the 100000s. Their reputation, entirely justified, is that they are nearly unbreakable if treated right. They do have a few issues of course. The radial valve head Hondas has a lot more of them, things like valve seats receding into the head...
If you want issues, get a KTM or a Husqvarna. Then you'll have so many issues, you'll need a separate hobby room for the parts.
And if commonplace availability is a real problem, get a XT600E engine (ebay?) and hang it in the frame; it fits exactly like the one in there and you can throw out the radiator etc. Or just stick the XT cylinder and head on the crankcase you have. Fits, no problem.

[iceman]

Oldmtcarver means well......he's just saying that to the MZ true believers, it would be a shame to drive the motor
to failure when it could be fixed reasonably now. Some of us really love these bikes....and want to see them
preserved.

I happened to know that engine failure may destroy the engine cases when the balancer loses it's timing in the worst scenario
or
it just will not start again when the compression drops in the best scenario.

I could be riding Ducatis or whatever, but I still prefer my MZ Skorpion.....

Good luck with the Harley....

Cheers,
Henri
moto-science : the ducati mirror specialist ™
http://moto-science.com/

I get it, but the only reason I wouldn't ride it is if I get another bike to ride. After that, I don't see the problem converting the drivetrain. Sorry if it ruffles feathers, but it's my bike.

It's kind of a heavy bike to be converted to electric if you ask me...Surely there are much lighter bikes to convert but good luck with that and post pictures when you do.

[chisleu]

It's kind of a heavy bike to be converted to electric if you ask me...Surely there are much lighter bikes to convert but good luck with that and post pictures when you do.

Not really that much heavier than others. It's not about the perfect platform. It's about a strong platform that I don't have to worry about. The frame and suspension on these bikes are excellent.

If I get another 10k miles on this engine before it pops I will be surprised. It HAS been abused, which is why I say this. I'm sure 100k is doable if it isn't run without oil for 500km or so. (just guessing.)

[edfmaniac]

Have you checked the valves as a source for the ticking. A few thousandths can make some valve trains sound they are fixing to explode. My XT225 sounded like it had a little dude with a jack hammer in there trying to get out. After a quarter turn of the threads it was all better.

Stay away from electric conversions unless you are dealing with bicycles. The level of engineering that would need to go into a successful electric bike that size is more than a very few shade tree mechanics are capable of. Good luck if you try but do some research and get ready for your hair to turn gray/grayer. Oh and look at some high voltage burns too while you're at it. The batteries in my 1/4 scale remote control plane can do some serious damage and you'll need about 20 or 30 times that much energy.

[chisleu]

I'm an electric guy originally. I moved from that into nitro/gas/alcohol powered toys. I'm good. High voltage is my friend. I work around it all the time.

No the valves checked out. It's not a tick so much as a weird sound. I am pretty sure it's timing chain related. The engine has been running fine other than the noise which doesn't seem to be getting worse. Also I've found a leak when I changed the oil yesterday on the coarse oil plug at the front. Maybe that is where the oil loss was coming from. It never dripped on my parking diaper, but it was moist with oil when I laid down to change the oil.

EDIT: That aside, I'm pretty sure I'm getting a switchback.

[iceman]

EDIT: That aside, I'm pretty sure I'm getting a switchback.

One of these ?

http://motorcycles.about.com/od/harleyd ... Review.htm